An elderly American tourist has tragically died after a ferry boat carrying cruise ship passengers sunk in the Bahamas.
On Tuesday (November 14), a two-deck passenger ferry, which offers popular excursions from cruise ships, had been en route to Blue Lagoon Island after departing from Paradise Island in the capital Nassau.
The boat was nearing its destination when it encountered rough water and larger-than-expected waves, causing the vessel to take on water and tilt dangerously.
Horrifying footage obtained by a passenger named Kelly Schissel shows frightened passengers in orange life jackets holding onto the two-deck ferry as it slants to one side. They appear to fall to one side of the ship as it sails over shaky waters, and in later clips, the tourists can be seen leaping into the blue ocean.
Watch the terrifying ordeal below:A 75-year-old American woman from Colorado sadly passed away, local police told Bahamas newspaper Tribune 242.
The woman has not been publicly named, and the exact circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear as authorities are investigating the casualty.
Furthermore, Blue Lagoon Island issued a statement about the incident, stating: "Today at approximately 11AM, a vessel from Blue Lagoon Island started taking on water and became partially submerged."
"Emergency Teams from the island quickly arrived to render assistance. Passengers and 5 staff members were located and brought to the island and two passengers were taken to the hospital for additional care. All on board are accounted for," they added.
Schissel opened up about the horrifying boat trip in a five-minute TikTok and said that she noticed something was amiss after she saw a crewmember run upstairs in tears while frantically grabbing a life jacket.
"That's when everybody was like . . . this is real, something's happening," she said, alleging that several crew members were in hysterics and unable to advise passengers on what to do.
"Once we realized we were starting to sink, and we saw the water coming in, people were screaming and people were freaking out, so we all got our life jackets on," she said. "We were waiting for the staff to direct us on what to do, and they didn’t."
Tourists Britanie Crippen and Derek Smoot echoed similar sentiments as they told Fox 10: "We got no instructions like, 'Hey, put on your life vest now.' It was, like, we figured it out when we were up to our shoulders in water."
It wasn't the pair's first time cruising, but it was their first time in the Bahamas.
"There were boats passing us very fast and didn't stop to help. Just kept passing by, creating huge waves. I kept getting almost drowned by the huge waves crashing," Crippen added.
Local authorities in the Bahamas and the U.S. Embassy are investigating what caused the boat to sink.
Passengers told Fox 10 that they are working with the Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas ship to get refunds for the excursion.
